Celebrating Einstein with dance

Jun 17, 2003

The Institute of Physics has commissioned the Rambert Dance Company to produce a new work to celebrate the achievements of Albert Einstein. The work will be performed for the first time at Sadler's Wells, London, in May 2005 and then go on tour. It will be part of a year of celebrations to mark the centenary of the publication of three ground-breaking papers by Einstein on special relativity, the photoelectric effect, and Brownian motion and the existence of atoms.

The work will be choreographed by Mark Baldwin, and will be his first work for the Rambert as its new artistic director. The Rambert's education department will also work in collaboration with the Institute of Physics to develop practical dance workshops for schools, a schools' matinee performance, and resource materials that can be used to teach both science and dance.

"We are very excited about this collaboration," said Jerry Cowhig, managing director of Institute of Physics Publishing. "Dance is an expressive medium and it will be ideal for abstract concepts like the theories of Einstein on everything from tiny atoms to the dynamics of the whole cosmos. I love the work of Rambert and am confident this new work will trigger many people's curiosity about physics in Einstein Year".

"I believe the Institute's commissioning of Rambert to be an inspired choice and a testament to how the diverse areas of art and science can work together," said Baldwin. "Physics encompasses many complex areas, but I hope to incorporate a few concepts that we can all relate to, such as time, space and light."